Apparatus for producing graphite



T.', F. BAILY. APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING GRAPHITE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 12. 1921- Patented Nov. 7, 1922.

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1 BAILE @l APFARATUS FQR application filed December la, rear. Serial its. 523357 2,

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, THADDEUS l Boner,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Alliance, in the county of Stark and Stateof Uhio, have invented a new and useful'lippa ratus for Producing Graphite, of which the following is aspeci' cation.

This invention relates to apparatus forproducing graphite and more particularly to a form of apparatus designed to be used in the process disclosed in my pending appli cation Serial Number 453,736, filed March 19, 192i.

The objects of the present invention are to provide an apparatus for producing graphite by theprocess described in my copending application above referred to, by means of which graphite is produced containing less impurities than the graphite produced by the usual electro-thermal method and considerably less cost than is possible in the pro duction of graphite by the electro-thermal method.-

llt is an established fact that iron at the freezing temperature will retain only about 4.3% of carbon, and that as the iron is heated to a molten state it is capable of absorbing amorphous carbon, the capacity of the molten iron for absorbing carbon increasing as the temperature of the iron is increased.

This being the case, when molten iron at a high temperature is fully saturated with carbon and then allowed to cool, all of the surplus carbon which has been dissolved in the molten iron is thrown out of the cooling bath in the lforin of graphite flakes or powder, only fthe residual. 4.3% of carbon remaining in the iron. l p v A preferred embodiment of the invention thus set forth in general terms is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- The figure is a vertical, sectional view through an apparatus designed for carrying out the process described...

7 A melting furnace of any suitable design is illustrated at I provided with stilling opening 2 normally closed-by a door and with an outlet openin d which is normally closed by a plug in tr e usual manner, and

mounted upon any suitable stru such the standards 6 which are braced by the cross bars 7. v

A cooling chamber 8, 'preierably in the form ofan elongated, upright cylinder is located in position to receive the molten iron I from the pouring spent 5 of the furnace, and is provided. at its upper end with the cupped receptacle 9 having a central reduced outlet opening 10 communicating with the inner cooling chamber ii, the lowerv end of which is provided with the cupped receptacle 12 having a reduced outlet openin 18.

A pit-l4 is preferably provlded beneath the cooling chamber and. arranged to receive a bucket or other receptacle 15, the cooling chamber being supported above said pit in any suitable manner as by the uprights 16, a baifle plate or guard i? being preferably provided at the upper end'of the cooling chamher to prevent the molten metal from spat.-

tering or splashing out of the receptacle 9 as it is poured from the spout 5.

A collecting receptacle 18 is located adjacent to the cooling chamber, being preferably supprted above the floor as by the frame 19 provided with the tapered or conical lower end portion 20 having the outlet opening 21 therein, which is normally closed as by the sliding door 22. A removable receptacle 23 may be placed beneath said collector, as shown; j v

The upper portion of the cooling chamber communicates with the collector, intermediate its ends,by means of the pipe 2d, a pipe 25 extending from the upper end of the collector to the lower portion of the cooling chamber, a blowing fan of. any usual construction being located in the fan casing 26' which is provided in said pipe betweenthe collector and cooling chamber.

in carrying out the present invention, iron as indicated at A, is placedin the furnace through the opening 2, the bucket 15 being arranged to be carried up to said opening by a crane'or the like. The outlet opening a of the furnace is of course plugged in the usual manners v The iron is then heated in'the furnace to a temperature of aporoxiruately 3800 F. at which temperature the iron will absorb about 8% of amorphous carbon. Coke or carbon in other form,; in proper quantit to be absorbed by the molteniron is ten die solved ice Q t eatre The ash and similar impurities will rise to the top of the bath and may be skimmed off through the opening 2. The plug is then removed. from the outlet opening a, the bath being poured. in its super-heated and saturated condition through the pouring spout 5 of the furnace and into the receptacle 9 of the cooling chamber, passing in a thin stream through the opening 10 and through the closed chamber 11, passing out of the cooling chamber through the opening 13 into the bucket 15.

As shown in the drawing, a small pool of the molten iron will collect in the receptacle 9 and a similar pool in the receptacle 12, as the opening 13 is slightly smaller than the opening 3.0 which is slightly smaller than the outlet opening 4 of. the furnace, these pools sealing the cooling chamber 11 from the outer air.

As the iron is passed in a thin stream, as shown, through the chamber 11, it will be cooled to slightly above its freezing temperature by' means of the circulation of non-oxidizing gas forced through said cooling chamher by the fan, which process will throwout of the bath, in the formof graphite, flakes or powder, the excess carbon above the resid ual .3% which is retained in the iron at its freezing temperature.

The circulation of an inert or non-oxidizing gas caused by the fan, will draw the graphite flakes or powder from the upper end of the cooling chamber and deposit them within the collector as shown in the drawing. A fine mesh screen 27 may, if desired, be placed at the inlet to the pipe 25 to prevent the graphite flakes from being carried back into the cooling chamber.- The graphite may be removed from the. collector by opening the door 22, allowing the graphite fi'akes to drop into the receptacle 23.

The iron which has eliminated the surplus carbon is received in the bucket 15 as it passes from the cooling chamber and may be poured back into the furnace 1 and reheated and recharged with carbon indefinitely, the same process being carried through successively.

If silica or similar impurities are present in the iron, it may be desirable to first heat the iron up to the desired temperature and pour the same, allowing it to cool when the silica and similar impurities will be thrown out of the bath, after which the iron may be reheated and recharged with carbon. indefinitely. the. graphite flakes or powder which are then thrown out of the cooling bath, being in the form of pure graphite.

The advantages of this apparatus and method for producing graphite over the electro-thermal method are quite obvious. There is no ungraphitized carbon present in the finished product, as is the case in a charge of material in the electro-thermal process. As the molten iron exercises a Q I 0 I q clarifying effect upon the carbon, eliminating certain impurities which would otherwise be present inthe finished graphite produced by the electro-thermal method, a better and'purer product is obtained with the present apparatus and method.

I claim 1.. An apparatus of the character described including a furnace which is adapted to super heat and saturate iron with carbon, and a cooling chamber arranged to receive the molten bath from tne furnace and to receive the surplus carbon which is thrown out of the cooling bath in the form of graphite. V

2. An apparatus of the character described including a furnace which is adapted to super heat and saturate iron with carbon, a

cooling chamber arranged to receive the,

molten bath from the furnace and to receive the surplus carbon which is thrown out of the coolingbath in the form of graphite, a collecting chamber and means for conveying the graphite from the cooling chamber to the collecting chamber.

3. An apparatus of the character described, including a furnace which is adapted to super heat and saturate iron with carbon, a cooling chamber and means for pouring the'molten bath from the furnace through the cooling chamber in a thin stream to allow the surplus carbon to be thrown out of the bath into said cooling chamber in the form of graphite.

a. An apparatus of the character described, including a furnace which is adapted to super heat and saturate iron with carbom a cooling chamber and means for pouring the molten bath from the furnace through the cooling chamber in a thin stream to allow the surplus carbon to be thrown out of the bath into said cooling chamber in the form of graphite, a collecting chamber, and means for conveying the graphite from the cooling chamber to the collecting chamber.

5. An apparatus of the character described including a furnace which is adapted to super heat and saturate iron with carbon, a cooling chamber arranged to receive the molten bath from the furnace and to receive the surplus carbon which is thrown out of 6. vAn apparatus of the character described including a furnace which is adaptedto super heat and saturate iron with carbon, a cooling chamber arranged to receive the molten, bath from the furnace and to receive the surplus carbon which is thrown out of the cooling bath in the form of graphits, and means for creating a suction in the cooling chamber to remove the graphite therefromv a cooling chamber, means for pouring the molten bath from the furnace through the cooling chamber in a thin stream to allow the surplus carbon to be thrown out of the bath into the cooling chamber in the form of graphite, and means for circulating air through the cooling chamber.

9. An apparatus of the character described including a furnace which is adapted to super heat and saturate iron with carbon, a cooling chamber, means for pouring the molten bath from the furnace through the cooling chamber in a thin stream to allow the surplus carbon to be thrown out of the bath into the cooling chamber in the form of graphite, and means for producing, a suction in the cooling chamber to remove the graphite therefrom.

10. An apparatus of the character described including a furnace which is adapted to super heat and saturate iron with carbon, a cooling chamber, means for pouring the molten bath from the furnace through the cooling chamber in a thin stream to allow the surplus carbon to be thrown out of the bath into the cooling chamber in the form of graphite, a collecting chamber, and means for circulating inert gas from the cooling chamber to the collecting chamber to convey the graphite to the collecting chamber. 11. An apparatus of the character described including-afuinace which is adapted to super heat and saturate iron with carbon, a cooling chamber having a receptacle at its upper end and provided with an opening at its upper end, and means for pouring the molten bath from the furnace into the re ceptacle and through the cooling chamber in a thin stream to allow the surplus carbon to be thrown out of the bath into the cooling chamber in the form of graphite.

12. An apparatus of the character described including a furnace which is adapted .to super heat and saturate iron with carbon,

a cooling chamber having a receptacle at 1ts upper end and provided with an openingat its upper end and an opening at its lower end, and means for pouring the molten bath from the furnace into the receptacle and through the cooling chamber in. a thin stream to allow the surplus carbon to be thrown out of the bath into the cooling chamber in the form of graphite.

13. An apparatus of the character described including a furnace which is adapted to super heat and saturate iron with carbon, a cooling chamber having a receptacle at its .upper end and provided with an opening at its upper end, and means for pouring the molten bath from the furnace into the THADDEUS F. BAILY. 

